Coaching Competencies

Within Early Childhood Coaching, competencies are inherent and learned qualities an early childhood coach possesses across the coaching domains. Competencies combine skills, knowledge, underlying attributes, and ability.

Competency indicators identify specific aspects of competencies that are transferable across domains. Educators may use one or more indicators to identify situations that develop a particular competency. 

The five competencies are joint planning, shared power, coaching awareness, growth and outcomes, and communication. The competencies and various indicators are below.

The coach and coach partner use a reciprocal process to equally contribute ideas and information. Together they decide how to put the ideas and information into practice.

Competency indicators such as: 

• Creating, maintaining, and updating working agreements, goals, action plans, communication pathways, and meeting plans

• Engaging in ongoing cycles of action and observation

• Engaging in ongoing cycles of reflection and feedback

The coach and coach partner engage in interactions to understand and respond in a meaningful way.

Competency indicators such as:

• Listening actively; attending to gestures, tone, and body language

• Asking powerful questions

• Facilitating awareness of our emotions and reactions during a coaching conversation 

• Summarizing, paraphrasing, and restating for clarity and understanding

• Providing and understanding written plans, feedback, and reflections

The coach and coach partner work from a strengths base, and recognize their own and each other’s unique perspectives, biases, experiences, skills, beliefs, cultures, and identities.

Competency indicators such as:

• Setting norms and boundaries, and following them

• Asking permission for engagement

• Creating and holding the space for authentic relationship

• Maintaining confidentiality 

• Cultivating cultural awareness

The coach and coach partner work from a strengths base, and recognize their own and each other’s unique perspectives, biases, experiences, skills, beliefs, cultures, and identities.

Competency indicators such as:

• Setting norms and boundaries, and following them

• Asking permission for engagement

• Creating and holding the space for authentic relationship

• Maintaining confidentiality 

• Cultivating cultural awareness

The coach and coach partner work to increase self-efficacy and outcomes in practice that improve learning experiences for children.

Competency indicators such as:

• Maintaining and cultivating curiosity and an open mindset

• Increasing resiliency around challenges and barriers

• Maintaining focus on outcomes for the child, the family, and the coach partner

• Empowering the coach partner to safely explore the type of supports that are wanted and needed

• Providing the coach partner practice time to increase self-efficacy

• Engaging in regular cycles of reflection and assessment of the effectiveness of coaching

• Celebrating successes